In this project we will design, build and test an innovative Direct Drive Power Take-Off (PTO) solution for tidal turbines. The consortium’s aim in this project is to reduce the lifetime cost of tidal power by 20%, demonstrated by accelerated life testing of a next-generation tidal turbine power take-off (PTO) solution. Project outputs will be independently verified, and will enable: 1. Improved performance: 20% Lifetime Cost of Energy improvement over a conventional PTO 2. Improved reliability: extending service intervals from less than 1 year to over 2 years 3. Verified survivability: PTO design lifetime greater than 20 years The results will be disseminated and exploited to maximise the benefit of this project to the ocean energy sector, and to raise investor and market confidence in the emerging tidal energy industry. In order to verify the technology, we will conduct accelerated onshore and in-sea testing of a prototype PTO and achieve third party validation of the design and the test results. In parallel we will develop a commercialisation strategy for selling and licensing the product to tidal energy technology developers, and explore potential uses outside the tidal sector, such as wave power and marine propulsion. The project is led by Nova Innovation, a world-leading tidal energy technology and project developer. Project partners are: SKF, Siemens, The University of Edinburgh, Delft Technical University, Wood Group and the Center for Wind Power Drives RWTH Aachen University. This proposal is being submitted to the call LCE-07-2016-2017: Developing the next generation technologies of renewable electricity and heating/cooling, and is perfectly aligned with the scope of the call: to increase the performance and reliability of ocean energy subsystems.

In this flagship project, the EnFAIT (Enabling Future Arrays in Tidal) Team, a partnership of leading European companies, will demonstrate a grid-connected tidal energy array that: - demonstrates a step change in the lifetime cost of energy for tidal power; - proves that high array reliability & availability can be achieved with best practice maintenance regimes; - captures and disseminates substantial learning on fundamental issues for the ocean energy industry; - builds investor confidence; - takes a huge step towards creating a commercial, bankable tidal energy sector; and - at 6 turbines, will be the largest number of devices ever deployed in an ocean energy array. This project will build upon an existing operational site, minimising development risk and allowing the generation of real-world results from day one. The technology used in the array has 100% EU content. The layout of the turbines will be adjusted within the project, enabling array interactions and optimisation to be studied for the first time at a real tidal energy site.

In the SEASTAR project, coordinator Nova Innovation (Nova) leads a world-class team to deliver a 4MW array of 16 tidal stream turbines at the EMEC Fall of Warness tidal site in Orkney - the world’s first large tidal farm, which will contain more tidal turbines than are currently deployed worldwide. SEASTAR will utilise Nova's well-proven M100D turbine, developed in partnership with project partner SKF - the world’s leading supplier of rotating equipment. The project builds on the success of Nova's six-turbine Shetland Tidal Array - the world's first offshore tidal array - which was delivered under the H2020 EnFAIT project by a team including SEASTAR partners SKF and Wood. They are joined in SEASTAR by DLA Piper, the leading global law firm in renewable energy, and by specialists in sustainability, insurance, consenting, communication, engineering and offshore operations. SEASTAR will demonstrate for the first time the industrial systems, manufacturing and operational techniques required to efficiently deliver a large tidal farm. It will generate and share transferable knowledge on key consenting risks, de-risking future large arrays globally. And it will improve the bankability of tidal energy by cutting costs, proving performance, and enhancing the insurability of large tidal farms. SEASTAR represents a step change for tidal energy. Volume industrial manufacturing, operation and maintenance techniques will be applied for the first time to the full lifecycle of a tidal farm, from design, procurement, production, shipping, marshalling, deployment, commissioning, operation and decommissioning. The 16-turbine farm provides unique opportunities to address critical environmental evidence gaps and develop the cost-effective, reliable monitoring solutions at scale required to accelerate permitting and remove barriers for future large tidal farms.